THERE is no doubt that the Tory “cash for honours” scandal is an appalling abuse of the system - the only question now is whether there is sufficient evidence of a breach of the law.

That is why it is imperative that a full investigation is carried out by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

At the beginning of the month, I made a formal complaint to the Metropolitan Police calling for an investigation into Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party over suspected breaches of the law, including the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925.

Last week I was told by the MPS that they would not carry out an investigation and they failed to explain why. By refusing to investigate these alleged breaches of law, the MPS is implying that the Tory party is above the law.

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Boris Johnson and his followers already believe this to be the case - and in failing to carry out an investigation into the fact that 15 of the 16 main Tory treasurers over the past two decades have been handed peerages after each donating over £3 million to the party - the MPS is fuelling this notion.

Let me be clear - no party, MP, MSP, Prime Minister, Lord or representative is above the law in the UK.

That is why I have joined forces with the Good Law Project to look at taking the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to court after its refusal to investigate potential criminality in the awarding of the peerages and its failure to explain why.

The refusal by the Met Police to investigate the latest cash for honours is a dereliction of duty. We have written to them to say if they do not give the reasons for a refusal to investigate we will take action to have this judicially reviewed.

We lodged a pre-action protocol against the force on Friday, which requests the Met shares the information and documents it considered before taking the decision against investigating. We await a response.

The Good Law Project has made it clear that if the Government is selling peerages - which on the surface seems to be the case - then it is breaking the law. They have highlighted that there is more than enough evidence to trigger a police investigation.

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In total, 22 of the party’s main financial backers have been given peerages since 2010 and together have given an estimated £54m to the Tories.

The very idea that a place in the House of Lords can be bought is something that appals the people of this country and there is an expectation that this should rightly be investigated.

Practically all recent treasurers of the Conservative Party have been given a place in our legislature, and the only qualification they seem to possess is the ability to throw money at Conservative coffers.

Under this Tory government, Westminster politics has been taken to the gutter with multiple allegations of sleaze and corruption. It is high time that, where there is clear evidence, the authorities properly consider it and investigate.